A Little Friendly Competition
by M. Joseph Day
Summary: Two cousins on the S.S. Tipton have a competition over Zack's affections. Who wins? I'm letting you, my readers, decide that in the end. Zack/OC. Zack/OtherOC. Might be rated M in later chapters...
1. Knight of Cousins

Zack looked at the boy staring at the piece of paper and looking around. Zack, who stood behind the juice bar, could plainly see that the boy was lost. He was one of the newbies. One of the first-time Seven Seas High students. Zack handed a customer their drink and walked out of the juice bar.

Zack started walking toward the guy. "Excuse me, but do you need help or something?"

"Yeah. I don't know where this cabin is located," explained the boy. He handed Zack the piece of paper he'd been staring at for the past half hour. Zack found his own cabin number written in Mister Moseby's handwriting on the paper. He smiled. He knew that since Marcus was now starring in a washed-up celebrity reality show that he'd eventually have to have a new roommate.

Zack laughed. "This is my cabin number. We're roomies now. I'm Zack Martin. What's your name?"

"Tyler Knight," answered the guy. He shook Zack's outstretched hand. Tyler smiled. "Uh, nice green polo shirt, dude. You work at the juice bar?"

"Yep. Gets me some extra money. You know how it is. Listen, I'll have someone else take over and I can show you around." Zach walked back to the juice bar after Tyler nodded. Zach walked back a minute later and lead Tyler to their cabin. He slid his shoes off as he entered and jumped onto his bed. Tyler just stood there.

Zach laid with his hands behind his head. He propped his head up on his elbow, looking at Tyler. "What's wrong, Ty? Have a little fun."

Tyler shrugged and jumped onto the other bed in the room. Zack put his head back down on his pillow and spread his arms out, closing his eyes. Tyler didn't do the same. He just stared at Zack, smiling widely. Zack opened his eyes and stood up. "I better be getting a shower. Hold tight and I'll show you around after."

"Okay." Tyler stood up too and nodded. Zack nodded and went into the bathroom. Tyler sighed as he heard the shower start.

Half an hour later, Zack stepped into the bedroom wearing only a towel. Tyler stood up, as he was sitting at Zack's desk before. He cleared his throat. Zack looked at him. "What?"

"You're um, wearing a towel," stated Tyler.

"And...?"

Tyler shook his head. "Um, nothing. Let's just go."

"Okay. Hold on. Close your eyes a sec." Zack opened his underwear drawer and Tyler closed his eyes. Zack dropped the white towel to the floor and slipped on a red pair of plaid boxers. "Okay. You can open your eyes now."

Tyler opened his eyes. "Because boxers are better."

Zack laughed. "At least it's clothes instead of just a giant white piece of cloth. Now, just let me dress fully and we can go."

When Zack was fully dressed, he and Tyler went into the hallway and out to the main deck. Zack spotted a hot girl and glanced at her as she walked away. He hit Tyler's arm. "Hey, Ty, let's follow that girl. She's hot, right?"

Tyler looked at the girl indicated and laughed. "Zack, that's my cousin Ingrid."

"So. I don't really care." Zack scoffed.

"Well I do care. She's my cousin."

"Well she's about to be my girlfriend," commented Zack. He cupped his hands around his mouth. "Hey! Ingrid!"

The tall girl with thick eye make-up and auburn hair turned around. She waved at Tyler and started walking toward her cousin and her "future boyfriend". She smiled. Zack looked her up and down. Ingrid waved a little to him. "Hey, Tyler. Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"

Tyler sighed angrily. "Ingrid, this is my roomie Zack. Zack, this is my cousin Ingrid."

Ingrid was five feet, ten inches tall. Six and a half inches taller than Zack. Even so, she bent down and hugged him. He looked a little confused but eventually hugged back. Ingrid straightened up, still smiling. Tyler seemed enable to smile for some sudden reason. "Sorry about that Zack. We don't shake hands usually in our family. We're really big on hugging."

Zack looked Ingrid up and down again. "I don't mind."

Tyler rolled his eyes. Ingrid noticed the look on her brunette cousin's face. Her smile disappeared. "Ty, can I talk to you alone for a sec please? You don't mind Zack?"

"Not at all. Please," said Zack.

"Thanks." Ingrid and Tyler walked a little ways away from Zack so he couldn't hear what they were saying. Ingrid looked into her cousin's eyes, since they were the same height. "Ty, what's up with you?"

"You're what's up with me," whispered Tyler. "Zack is my roommate, and I'm working on getting closer to him. He's hot, Ing."

Ingrid sighed. "You don't have to tell me that. I'm really jealous that you have him as a roommate. But Ty, he doesn't seem like the type that can be turned gay. I'm sorry."

"I noticed that too. But how many seemingly straight guys have I turned gay before?" asked Tyler. Ingrid shrugged. Tyler sighed. "Three. Mark, Austin, and Ryan."

"Ryan wasn't already gay?"

"He was questioning, but I made him realize he really was gay," clarified Tyler. He bit his lip. "I'll be so depressed if I can't get Zack."

"Well I'm telling you to back off, cousin. He's too absorbed in girls to even consider guys. To even consider you. Again, I'm sorry for that, but you have to understand that you're never going to get your way with this one. Zack's mine, Tyler."

Tyler glared at his red-headed cousin. "You really want to turn this into a competition?"

Ingrid crossed her arms across her chest. "Damn right I do."

"This. Means. War."

Tyler and Ingrid both smiled and came to either side of Zack again. Zack held out his arm, and Ingrid wrapped her arm around it. Zack smiled. "Everything alright, babe?"

"Perfect, Zack." Ingrid beamed at Tyler.

Tyler rolled his blue eyes.

[_Who do you hope wins?_]


	2. Keeping Score

[Ingrid's Points: 5

Tyler's Points: 2]

Ingrid sat down in her desk the next day, smiling at Tyler, who sat next to her. "So, how goes things with your hottie roommate? Does he know about you yet?"

"No," answered Tyler. "And he's not going to find out until I tell him. I'm really good at acting straight. You should know that much about me."

"I do. Here he comes."

Tyler turned in his chair to watch the door. Zack walked through it, smiling brightly at Ingrid. Zack sat down on Tyler's other side and hit his desk. "Hey, Ty, what's up?"

"Nothing much, man," answered Tyler, managing to keep his cool. Zack leaned over Tyler's desk and squeezed Ingrid's arm. She giggled, and he smiled. "And how are you doing, babe?"

Ingrid giggled some more, and Tyler rolled his eyes.

[I: 7, T: 2]

After classes had ended for the day, Zack and Ingrid sat in the hot tub together. Tyler walked past the tub and Zack poked his leg. "Hey, wanna get us some towels?"

Tyler bit his tongue and crossed the deck to the towel booth and grabbed two of the red towels. He carried them back to the hot tub, setting them on the side. Ingrid looked at her cousin, knowing that she was ahead in the game by countless points. Tyler knew it too, so he decided on a way to give himself some points. He purposely hit Zack's smoothie off the side of the hot tub so that it spilled all over Zack's front. Zack gasped and stood up, covered in cold pink frozen liquid.

Tyler faked surprised too and grabbed a towel, starting to blot Zack's chest and swimming trunks. "I'm _so_ sorry Zack. I didn't see it sitting there."

"It's okay," clarified Zack. He stepped out of the hot tub, took Ingrid's towel, and dried off with it. "I'm gonna go back to our cabin and change into dry clothes. Be back."

Zack walked away, and Ingrid glared at her cousin. "Clever. Spilling a smoothie on purpose and making Zack use both towels in the process. That was very jerky of him, to not even get me another towel."

Tyler smiled. "That was actually part of the plan, cousin."

[I:7, T:5]

Moments later, Tyler stepped into his and Zack's cabin. Zack had already changed into some new shorts, but he was still without a shirt. Zack turned to look at Tyler. "Hey, Ty."

"Hey, Zack." Tyler smiled and sat down on Zack's bed.

Zack jumped onto his bed and laid on his bare stomach. He screamed into a pillow, then turned over so he was face up. "What if I told you that no one but Maddie has come close to your cousin?"

"Who's Maddie?" asked Tyler.

"Well, before my twin Cody and I started school on this boat, we lived at a Tipton Hotel in Boston, where our mom was a lounge singer. Maddie worked there as the candy-counter girl. I had a huge crush on her for the longest time, but then I had to leave her for Seven Seas High. But I soon saw her again, and when I saved her from marrying an annoying kid prince, she kissed me. That was the farthest it went. Ingrid is almost close to that. And she likes me back, so that's definitely a plus."

Zack set both of his hands on his stomach and looked up at Tyler. "What? What's wrong?"

Tyler sighed and stood up. "Nothing."

"Listen, I usually wouldn't care what was up with you or anyone else, but you're really down about something, so tell me," explained Zack. "Please?"

Tyler couldn't resist the puppy-dog face Zack was making. He laughed. "I can't tell you what's wrong. It's something...I just can't tell you!"

Tyler sat down on his own bed.

"Oh! I got it! You could charade it out! I like charades!" exclaimed Zack.

Tyler bit his lip and once again sat on Zack's bed. Zack looked up at Tyler. "What are you doing?"

Tyler just whispered, "Playing charades."

And then he kissed Zack. Kissed him with everything that'd been bottled up inside since the day before. Zack's hand flew to the side of Tyler's face, and Tyler thought Zack was going to push him away, but he didn't. Zack's hand just sat there, on the side of Tyler's face, letting the other boy kiss him. Tyler soon pulled away. Zack didn't move his hand, staring into Tyler's eyes with a mix of shock, surprise, and fear.

[I: 7, T: 7]

[_It's all tied up!_]


	3. Points of View

[I: 7, T:7, Tied!]

Tyler's POV.

Zack dropped his hand from my face, grabbed his shirt, and disappeared out the door. I smacked myself in the forehead for kissing him. Why now of all times? Why that suddenly? Maybe it was because I couldn't keep my attraction for him to myself anymore. I had to let him know. And now he was probably going to request a different cabin and was never going to talk to me again.

[In Tyler's mind, I: Billions!, T: Absolute Zero!]

Zack's POV.

I'd just been kissed by a dude! How could that have happened? I thought that maybe I had always mistaken that look that Tyler gave me for a friendly look, not a loving look. I'd never dealt with anything like that before. The closest I'd _ever_ come was kissing my best friend Max, but at least _she _was a _girl_!

I stopped walking right outside the hallway. I put my head back against the wall and touched my lips absentmindedly. It felt just the same to be kissed by Tyler as it did by all those countless girls I'd kissed before. Wait..wrong..scratch that...it _did_ feel the same, but it shouldn't have, because Tyler was a _guy_! Just like me. Just like Cody and Woody and Marcus and Mister Moseby. Every other person I'd ever kissed was a _girl_! Just like Bailey. Just like Mom and London and Maddie and Miss Tutweiler.

I pulled my shirt on and straightened up my hair. When that was done, I saw Ingrid walking toward me. In my head, I panicked. _Should I tell her? Should I keep it a secret? What should I do?!_

I eventually decided on keeping the weird male-on-male kiss a secret. I turned my face to the side, and Ingrid kissed me on the cheek. I turned to look at her again, and we both laughed. "What's up, Ingrid?"

"Um, I was wondering if I could watch a movie or something with you in your cabin," answered Ingrid.

Alarms went off in my head. "No! I mean, um, why not come get dinner with me? I'll buy."

The look on Ingrid's face was suspicious. "Sure, um, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I lied. We started walking toward the restaurant. I walked a little bit faster than her, so she had to make her strides bigger. We were seated at a table as soon as we walked through the doors. We ordered and then put our menus down.

Ingrid immediately noticed my nervous gestures. "Are you sure you're okay, Zack?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine. Just a little hungry, you know." I set my hands on my stomach, then removed them as soon as I realized that that was the position I'd been in when Tyler had kissed me. I just couldn't stop thinking about it. How close he had been. How good he had smelled. How his lips under mine felt right somehow.

I wasn't going to change rooms or anything, I'd just pretend like nothing had happened. Yeah, I'd do that. But it'd be hard if I was going to be attracted to him. But I wasn't going to be. I belonged to the women. I belonged to Ingrid, not Tyler.

Our food arrived at the table, and I started eating right away. She watched me with a face that was a mixture of confused and grossed out. I couldn't help it though. I ate when I was nervous. That's why I was chubbier than Cody, because he ate only when he had to or when he was cooking.

I ordered another plate of something else, and Ingrid finished her first plate when I finished my second. She didn't order dessert, but I ordered a piece of chocolate cake and a hot fudge sundae. She looked worried. "Zack, you're _so_ not okay. You really need to tell me what's wrong, before you eat yourself sick."

I didn't know if I should tell her. I decided to tell the truth half an hour later, when I was finished eating dessert. I was tempted to get something else, but Ingrid wouldn't let me, so we went back to her cabin. She crossed her arms and looked at me sternly. "What is it, Zack?"

I sighed. "Tyler kissed me."

Ingrid's eyes became wide. Her mouth hung open in surprise. "He did?!"

I nodded slowly. "And I can't stop thinking about it. I never knew he liked me, and then when it became apparent, when he kissed me, I don't know what happened. It's like another person took me over. Somehow, kissing Tyler felt good."

Ingrid rolled her eyes. A tear ran down her face. I wiped it immediately and kissed her. It felt so much better than kissing Tyler. It felt...normal. I was used to kissing girls. Kissing one guy was a one-time thing I was never going to try again...I think...

[In Zack's mind, I: ?, T: ?]


	4. Swimming

[I: ?, T:?]

When Zack walked into his cabin that night, Tyler was already asleep. Zack watched his roommate and friend sleep and sighed. He couldn't seem to forget that Tyler had kissed him. Then again, that wasn't something one would normally forget. Zack sighed again, pulled his shirt off over his head, and kicked his sandals off. He crawled onto his own bed slowly and laid down on top of the covers.

Zack stared at the darkened ceiling, listening to the ocean. Zack couldn't help but watch Tyler sleep. It was so strange, how he was just inches away from the _guy_ who had kissed him less than six hours ago. Zack would've liked to spend the night in Ingrid's cabin, but she had a roommate, and there was no doubt that her roommate was one of those Cody-like people who would immediately report rule-breaking.

Zack heard the door of his cabin open and looked at the doorway. There stood Ingrid. She was smiling brightly. "Hey, Zack. You weren't asleep, were you?"

"No," said Zack. He stood up. "What are you doing here, Ingrid?"

"I wanted to know if you might've wanted to take a little late-night swim with me," explained Ingrid. She came over to Zack and set her hands on his shoulders. She kissed him.

"Well, if you put it that way." Zack smiled at Ingrid and kissed her again. "By the way, how did you get here without getting caught by Kirby?"

"First of all, he was sleeping. Second of all, I could be a spy if I wanted too. I unlocked your cabin door with my bobby pin," explained Ingrid.

Zack smiled again. "Hot _and_ dangerous. I love that. Let's go."

Ingrid and Zack entwined their hands and left the cabin. They were too busy talking about Ingrid's espionage talents and Zack's attraction that they hadn't noticed Tyler wake up and listen to their every word.

Ingrid walked down the steps into the lowest depths of the ship. Zack was confused. "Where are we going? The pool's up there."

Zack pointed upwards. Ingrid laughed. "I know. But there's another pool down here. A staff pool. There's a spy and a weight room down here too. You're technically staff, right?"

"I guess I am," smiled Zack.

Ingrid unlocked the door with her bobby pin and stepped in. The room itself was dark, but lights within the pool itself caused the water to make a glare on the ceiling. Ingrid walked to the side of the pool, unbuttoned her plaid-printed shirt, dropped it to the ground, and pushed it back with her sandaled foot. She kicked her sandals off backward, pulled her pants off, then unlatched her bra. The last thing she removed was her underwear. Ingrid jumped into the warm water and smiled at Zack.

"Oh, _nude_ swimming. _Skinny-dipping_. I would usually do it, but I'm just not...comfortable enough with you yet," explained Zack. His heart beat fast and his breath was off.

Ingrid smiled from the pool. "Aw. You're not embarrassed about your junk or something, are you?"

"What? No! My 'junk' is actually _very_ impressive. I'm just not up for this quite yet."

Tyler suddenly opened the door and came into the gigantic room behind Zack. Zack turned around as Tyler saw Ingrid swimming naked in the pool.

Tyler glared at his cousin and shook his head. "You whore!"

Tyler turned and left out the door, not bothering to be quiet. Zack glanced at Ingrid. "He kinda has a point."

Zack then left the pool room, practically running after Tyler.

[I: 3, T: 5]

_Being called a whore takes 7 points down to 3. Having Zack run after you gives you 5 points in Zack's mind._


	5. Telling Zack

[I:3, T:5]

"Tyler, wait!" yelled Zack as Tyler trudged up the steps. He grabbed Tyler's hand and skipped the steps that were left. He pulled himself up so that he facing Tyler.

"What!" yelled Tyler. "What could you possibly want from me?! Ingrid's back there, swimming naked, and you're going to chase _me_?! You have what you want! So go get it!"

Zack laughed a little. "Ingrid naked in a pool isn't what I want. She's moving _way_ too fast for me. I would never do anything like that after knowing her for so short of a time. The truth of it is, Ty, that I don't really know _what_ I want. I don't want to get naked with Ingrid, and I don't want you. I just don't know what I want."

"Are we really confusing you that much?" Tyler asked.

Zack looked confused. He slid down the wall behind him and sat down on the floor. Tyler sat down beside him. Zack sighed. "What do you mean by that?"

Tyler sighed too. He yawned and stretched. "It's kind of a long story. Well, we both started liking you, after we met you. We, um, started a competition against each other..."

"A competition. And I was...?"

"The prize," finished Tyler. He looked over at Zack. Zack nodded his head slowly. "So, I had a pair of cousins at each other's throats for me."

"Yep."

"So who won?" Zack asked.

"I was kinda hoping you could tell me." Tyler looked at Zack. Zack looked back at Tyler. Zack bit his lip and then sighed heavily. "I honestly don't know. Like I said before, I'm so confused about everything. I mean, Ingrid stripping put her down in the competition, but I'm not gay, so you're about even now."

[I:3, T:3]

"Somehow that's not the answer I was hoping for," commented Tyler. He stood up and started walking away.

Zack slammed the back of his head against the wall. He sat there until the sun started peering over the ocean. Then he was bathed in sunlight, just sitting there. Mr. Moseby soon walked up, wearing his normal white shorts and socks. "Zachary? What are you doing here?"

Zack swallowed and cleared his throat. "Hoping to clear my head."

"What's wrong?" asked Mr. Moseby.

Zack got to his feet. "It's just...high school drama. Two cousins are having a competition over me, and I don't know who's going to win. The usual, you know."

"Sounds like more than usual. You don't look well, Zack. Do you need to go to the nurse?"

Zack massaged the back of his neck. "No. I'll be fine. I'm just going to change my clothes and get to class. Thanks anyway, Mister Moseby."

Zack started walking away.

"Uh, Zack?" Mr. Moseby said rather loudly.

Zack turned to look at Mr. Moseby. "What?"

"Ingrid Knight was found in the staff pool last night by Kirby. She's being sent home for trespassing on limited boundaries," explained Mr. Moseby.

"What does this have to do with me?" asked Zack, who was silently freaking out.

"She told me the reason she was in there, Zack. She was trying to win you over. Trying to win some competition against her cousin Tyler. I'm pretty sure they were the two competitors, were they not?"

Zack sighed. "Yeah, they were."

"Well, I can't exactly ban a competition of such circumstances. All I can say is that I hope you make the right choice. You shouldn't have to fret over such things. Since Ingrid is leaving, that only leaves two options, right?"

"Two, sir?" asked Zack.

"Tyler or no one," clarified Mr. Moseby.

_What will happen next?_


	6. No More Playing Around

Zack started walking back to his cabin, his head full of thoughts. So Ingrid was being sent home. Tyler or no one...Of course, Zack would have to pick the second option. He still wasn't gay and couldn't be swayed "that way" easily. But Tyler liked Zack enough to respect his boundaries, and Zack appreciated that.

Zack stepped into the cabin to find it empty. He wondered where Tyler was. Had Tyler just become so tired of everything that he just collapsed someone random, like Zack? Maybe he was saying good-bye to his cousin. Zack should've said good-bye to Ingrid. Now she would be gone and he would probably never see her again.

Zack showered, changed his clothes, and walked to the juice bar. He just made drinks and ignored anything else customers said. He even ignored the hot girls that came to the juice bar. The only girl that was on his mind was Ingrid. Just Ingrid. And then she was suddenly there, sitting in front of him.

"I'll have whatever you wanna give me," commented the auburn. She smiled at Zack.

"Ingrid?" asked Zack. "I thought you left!"

"Well, London somehow convinced her father and Moseby to let me stay. It's pretty awesome how things worked out," started Ingrid. Zack put a cup in front of her, and she put her hand on his. "Listen Zack, I'm sorry about last night. I was moving _way_ too fast, and I realize my mistake now. Can you forgive me?"

"I think I can," answered Zack. He cleared his hoarse throat and wiped down a portion of the counter.

"Zack," said Ingrid. Zack looked up. Ingrid grasped his wrist and pulled him into a kiss, wrapping her long arms around him. When the kiss was finished, Ingrid brushed the side of Zack's face with her right index finger. "I'm sorry, Zack. The manipulating ends now."

"Okay," said Zack quietly.

Later, Tyler was still nowhere to be found. Zack and Ingrid arrived in Zack's cabin. Zack pushed some clothes and other stuff off his bed and sat down. Ingrid sat down beside him.

"Have you seen Tyler today?" asked Zack.

"Uh, no," answered Ingrid. She went to kiss Zack, but he stood up and walked over to the door.

"I wonder where he is."

"Why?" asked Ingrid. She stood up and went over to Zack, putting her hand on his shoulder.

Zack shrugged her off and left the room. Ingrid rolled her eyes and followed. Zack found Tyler sitting by the pool with London. "There you are, Ty. I was getting worried."

"Why would you be worried about me?" asked Tyler. He stood up. "I asked London to ask Mr. Tipton to keep Ingrid here so you could be together. Without me and without a competition. Just you and Ingrid."

"Wait, _you're_ the reason Ingrid's still here?" Zack asked.

Tyler nodded.

Zack turned to look at Ingrid. "Did you know?"

"No," admitted Ingrid. "I thought it was London, not Tyler."

Zack swallowed and looked back at Tyler. He hugged the taller boy. "Thank you, Ty. You really helped me out a lot, but I don't want to be without you. You're still my friend, dude."

"Okay, we're done here," Ingrid popped in. "Thanks, Ty. Let's go, Zack."

"I'll meet you at your cabin. I'm gonna stay here with my bud for a few more minutes." Zack smiled back at Tyler as Ingrid rolled her eyes and walked away.

"You want my seat, Zack?" asked London.

"That'd be nice."

London got up and walked away. Zack sat down in her place. "Hey, Ty."

"Why are you being nice to me?" Tyler asked his crush. "I crush on you, I compete for you, and then I argue with you, and you still talk to me. What the hell?"

"_You_ didn't do anything wrong," corrected Zack. "Well, maybe the competition was a little wrong, but none of those other things were wrong. You can like me if you want to. Kissing me wasn't even wrong. I tried to tell myself I didn't like it. But now, sitting here with you, I know I liked it."

"But you don't want to be with me..."

Zack sighed. "I still don't know who or what I want. Sorry."

"It's okay. At least you're still my friend."

After a moment of silence, Tyler said, "You better get back to Ingrid."

"Yeah," agreed Zack.

Zack and Tyler both stood up. Zack hugged Tyler. Tyler was about to pull away when Zack kissed him. It was just a quick, innocent, boy-on-boy, close-lipped kiss, but it was a kiss. Zack walked away, smiling back at Tyler for just a minute.


End file.
